Thursday, September 22, 2011

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Dengue fever cases on the rise


Dengue fever cases are recording a gradual rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the number of patients who tested positive increased to 109 with five deaths so far.

The officials in Health Department on Wednesday said that 216 patients were suspected of contracting the disease while 56 confirmed patients were under treatment at various hospitals of the province.

The officials said that 158 patients had been discharged after undergoing complete treatment.

Talking to The News, Director General Health Services (DGHS) Dr Mohammad Sharif said the situation was under control and the department had taken all precautionary measures. He said that all the district hospitals as well as tertiary care hospitals had diagnostic facilities for the disease.

The official urged the people not to get panicked as the virus could be tackled by adopting proper precautionary measure. He said the disease was not a new one though it was one of the highly contagious diseases. He said it had seasonal distribution affiliated with rain and had one percent death rate.

The health official said that to prevent the bite of the mosquito, which carries dengue virus, people should take extra care in early morning before sunrise as well as soon after the sunset. He said people should use insect repellents, fully cover the body avoiding shorts and sleeveless shirts as well as limit exposure to mosquitoes by avoiding stagnant water. He urged people to empty stagnant water from old tires, trashcans and flowerpots.

Our correspondent adds from Kohat: Two persons affected by dengue virus in Darra Adamkhel were shifted to a hospital in Peshawar on Wednesday, a health official said. Talking to The News, Agency Surgeon Frontier Region Kohat Dr Fahim Khan said that Wasim, 25, and Ilyas, 28, residents of Zarghunkhel in Darra Adamkhel, were suffering from fever that showed the symptoms of dengue fever. He said after diagnosis of dengue fever, both of them were shifted to the Hayatabad Medical Complex for further treatment. He said the medicines and other equipment required for the treatment of dengue fever were not available in the Darra Adamkhel hospital.

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